A couple of months ago I bought a new R1 Enhanced, and at some point prior to firing it the plunger lever, which appeared to be stainless steel, was broken off. Remington replaced it, with what appears to be a carbon steel part.

The pistol runs as well or better than any new 1911 I've ever had. Based on that, when I came across a stainless R1 a couple of weeks ago I purchased it. Yesterday, while reassembling the newer pistol after cleaning I broke the tip off the plunger lever. I replaced it myself with a Colt part I had on hand.

I've owned and fired different Series 80 Colts for 25 years, and never had a problem with the plunger lever. I have occasionally bumped them while putting the slide on the frame, but I have never had one break.

Is this problem more prevalent with the R1's, or is this coincidence? The pistols otherwise run great, accurate, good trigger pulls, and no function problems after 1000 rounds between the two.